The following events will be held during the month of May by the Maxwell Museum.
Tuesday, May 13, Noon
"Skeletal and Dental Complications of Sickle Cell Disease," by Dr. Edward Harris
Sickle cell disease (SCD) involves a group of inherited conditions collectively termed the hemoglobinopathies. SCD arose in equatorial Africa because the heterozygotes were resistant to malaria, and the genes moved to the New World with the African slave trade. In the absence of malaria in the US, these genes provide no benefit, but they continue in the population even though the homozygotes historically died in childhood.
This talk reviews the skeletal and dental consequences of children with SCD. Dr. Harris is Professor of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. His research centers on contemporary dental human variation. This event is free to the public.
Friday- Sunday, May 16-18 (3 days, 2 nights)
Excursion to the Gila
Archaeologist Leslie Cohen will guide a tour of outlying Mogollon sites and Mimbres pottery.
Cost is $325 includes all except evening meals. Call 277-2924 for more information.
Saturday, May 24, 1 p.m.
Tarahumara Life & Art "Tarahumara Survival: Preserving Traditional Culture in the 21st Century"
The Tarahumara’s of the Sierra Madre/Copper Canyon area in northern Mexico are among the most isolated and traditional people in the Americas, and speak a Uto-Aztecan language related to the Ute, Hopi and Puebloan languages.
Patricinio Lopez, a member of the Tarahumara people, will discuss modern challenges to Tarahumara life, and play traditional music on a hand-carved violin
Accompanying Lopez will be Richard Fisher, author and explorer of the Sierra Madre, who will discuss Tarahumara culture, including its similarities and possible connections to ancestral Pueblo people.
For more information about these events call 277-1400.